Spring 2026 Course Search

In this course, students will pursue advanced work in linguistics via topics and forms approved by their respective Plan committees.  The course will frame habitual and productive practices in the conduct and presentation of linguistic research, guide the growth of individual students' topical expertise, and present opportunities for the sharing and collaborative improvement of student work.  Through the pursuit of individual projects, students will develop and refine skills in the formulation of research questions and methods, the synthesis of existing scholarly literat

This is a course for composers who have taken composition courses previously and have good notation skills.  Enrollment is limited to 10 students. Each student will produce a sizable piece for String Quartet. The class time will be used for analysis and study of works composed for string quartet and for examination of the student’s works-in-progress.

Modern Guitar is a one on one private lesson.  Occasionally if two students are about the same level the class will accommodate two students at a time.

It is expected that a firm grasp of all the concepts taught in Beginning and Intermediate Guitar are fully understood.

If you haven’t taken these classes you would have to audition to receive the instructors permission to demonstrate skills.

Correct posture for playing the guitar Several approaches to tuning the guitar

Twelve week study of twelve different guitarists of varying styles for awareness of the history of the guitar and the various styles the instrument is capable of. Enhances listening skills.

Finger independence and strength exercises. Attaching finger skills and independence to the brain.

Instrumental Study on Guitar.  Continued studies from Beginning Guitar. Advanced study in fret-board harmony and theory.

For students doing work-study or internships, we will focus on three core areas of professionalization. First, each week will journal our work weeks, discussing and sharing our work experiences in a round-table. Second, we will build our professionalization skills, especially networking (in person and on LinkedIn), resume writing, and doing practice interviews. Finally, we will work on writing 5-year plans, to help us figure out where we’d like to be a few years after graduation. More specifically

The course is for intermediate to advanced students.
Students are expected to practice daily (minimum of 45 minutes). End-of-semester performance is required.

This two-credit course involves working on the conceptualization and editing of the national print literary magazine Bennington Review. Students will serve as Editorial Assistants for the magazine. The course will also engage students in how to approach fiction as an editor: from the selection process, macro edits, and micro edits—to the conversation with the writer.

We will study and perform from the string band traditions of rural America. Nova Scotia, Quebecois, Irish, New England, Scandinavian, African-American dance and ballad traditions. In addition, these will be experienced with listening, practice (weekly group rehearsals outside of class), and performing components. Emphasis on ensemble intuition, playing by ear, and lifetime personal music making skills (transposition, harmonizing, etc.).

Beginning, intermediate and advanced group lessons on the mandolin will be offered. Students will learn classical technique on the mandolin and start to develop a repertoire of classical and traditional folk pieces. Simple song sheets with chords, tablature, and standard notation, chord theory, and scale work will all be used to further skills. History of the Italian origins of mandolin and its introduction to the western world will be discussed as well as past and present practices.

Introduces the fundamentals of guitar playing, including: posture, hand positions, tuning, chords, strumming, finger-picking, songs and tunes, major scales, and beginning to read music. History of the guitar and its past and current artists will be shared.

For the experienced (3+years of playing) violinist/violist. Lessons in traditional styles of fiddling – Quebecois, New England, Southern Appalachian, Scandinavian, Cajun, Irish, and Scottish. This course is designed to heighten awareness of the variety of ways the violin is played regionally and socially in North America (and indeed around the world) and to give practical music skills for furthering personal music making. Students will be expected to perform at Music Workshop, or as part of a concert, in ensemble and/or solo.

Instrumental Study on Guitar. Continued studies from Beginning Guitar. Advanced study in fret-board harmony and theory, play in different tunings, increase chord vocabulary and repertoire.

A comprehensive course in learning musical skills on the ukulele. We will learn the history of the uke, from its Portuguese and Indigenous Hawaiian origins, and both traditional and contemporary styles. Music theory and playing techniques will be learned and practiced. Awareness of traditional styles of playing the instrument will be furthered through a listening component and ensemble playing with other instrumentalists. Repertoire will be drawn from traditional and original Hawaiian songs, as well as contemporary music from the past 60 years.

Lessons offered one on one or in small groups. All experience levels welcome. Trumpet, Cornet, Horn, Trombone, Tuba. Some instruments available to borrow. Students should plan to practice daily for ten minutes.

Mutually agreed upon lesson time to be arranged following registration.

This course serves as an introduction to rhythms, songs, and musical practices from Africa and the African Diaspora, including Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Students will learn these traditional folkloric rhythms using indigenous percussion instruments from these territories and provinces. Class discussions will convey history, culture, language, and dance from these regions. Students will also have opportunities to create rhythms and arrangements in collaboration in our “break-out” segments.

Advanced studies in theory relating to performance.

Students must be enrolled in Bass with Bisio (MIN4417) simultaneously, no exceptions. This class is only for advanced students and by permission of instructor.

Beginning to advanced lessons in bass technique and appropriate theory.

Lessons on Tuesdays – Schedule TBA.

In this class, students will start working on their artists' book documenting their ongoing MFA thesis research, process and practice, and we will discuss how this relates to potential ideas for Research As Action presentations. To make this possible, we will use software such as Adobe CC Indesign and Photoshop. Slide presentations, software demos, group and individual critiques will help students develop and shape their ongoing thesis research and actions. 

Individual 25-30 min. long lessons for students with prior experience who want to continue learning fundamental violin technique.
Daily practice (about 15-20 min.) is expected. End-of-semester performance is required.

Studio instruction in cello. There will be an emphasis on creating and working towards an end-of-term project for each student.

The basics of cello, part one. In a small group or one-on-one, students will learn how to play cello, with an emphasis on performance at the term’s conclusion.

This course is for students who have prior experience with the instrument. Students are expected to practice daily for a minimum of 30 minutes per day. End of semester performance required.

This course allows students to self-design course work by combining topics and approaches from the Practice LABs and the Study LABs to meet required hours. The Individualized LABS take the form of a series of self directed intensive workshops and study immersions.

Variable Credit, 1-2 Credits

Through mentor approved independently paced work, students develop and schedule their own weekly, planned creative practices using student-initiated resources and/or classes. Mentors guide students through the designed plan that can include a combination of practices, techniques, technologies and methodologies. The study format should provide opportunity for varied approaches and choices.

This topic driven seminar focuses on current developments within the field of dance and performance. Students will learn to think of dance and performance through their own embodied experiences and by placing dance, movement, and performance in wider disciplinary, cultural and global contexts.

Where and how does study happen? What is the value of study and how do we recognize that value? What does it mean to think of our study of dance and performance as an encounter and how might that thinking offer up a chance for one to pay attention differently? Is it different from research?  Or, as Kevin Quashie suggests, does it perhaps re-situate the activities of research, scholarship, teaching and practice in an important way? These Labs take the form of intensive workshops and/or lectures.

Variable Credit, 1-2 Credits

What does studying together offer us critically that studying alone might not? Ariella Azoulay refers to studying with companions as a method of unlearning. What are the shifts experienced when you are studying with and alongside others? What conditions might group study provide that allow different questions and understandings to emerge? If, as Irit Rogoff states, “All research is collaborative,” how might these study groups expand our thinking through collaborative practices? What methodologies emerge?

The record of the processes and research practices take shape in the writing and designing of the artist’s book. The Research as Actions are discussed and planned. These actions are shared informally and at the conclusion of the term. 

Students propose, plan, discuss and develop a (research) thesis project. They choose a thinking partner to work alongside and begin the processes.

This is a 2 credit course to support the Faculty Drama Production of Eugene Onegin. Voice and style instruction will be provided for the singers in the musical, and some research on American singing styles. 

PODs offer students the opportunity to make connections through multiple access points, especially in areas of performance. PODs are designed to help students recognize the tools and methodologies used in their own creative work both as performers and as choreographers. Structurally each POD is identified by a unique topic. PODs have required rehearsal times and culminate in a public showing.

The artist will create an original work with BFA students through an intensive research and rehearsal process.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

The U.N. estimates that there are 281 international migrants in the world, a number that has grown precipitously over the past half century and shows little sign of dissipating. Over the same time period, anti-immigrant parties and leaders have sprung up across much of the world, with visions of national revitalization contingent upon militarized borders and mass deportations. How might we understand the complex and contradictory forces that give rise to such a reality?

Individual private lessons for advanced students, with focus on the classical repertoire. Students will meet with the instructor weekly on scheduled class days, at times to be arranged with the instructor. Two excused absences permitted, with every effort made for make-up lessons. Daily practice is expected, and participation in Tuesday evening music workshop and performance at the end-of-term recital are required.

This course will support the rehearsal and performance process of the student-directed productions. Students who are cast in the productions through the Drama Auditions will enroll in this 2-credit section.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

This course will focus on the learning of traditional Scottish and Irish melodies on the harp as well as developing foundational technique. This will include looking at body posture, the importance of relaxation and its relationship to developing good tone, and finger placement. In group lessons, students will learn melodies and exercises the traditional aural way, by ear, and simple notation and recordings will be provided at the end of each class to use as a reference for practice during the week.

This course is intended for students with some playing and reading experience.

Students will expand upon a repertoire of scales and chords.

They will study and learn to play selected compositions.

Individual piano lessons for more advanced students.

A weekly 45 minute lessons time is arranged with the instructor.

Have you been thinking about learning to play the piano? 

Do you want to learn to read sheet music and understand the basics of music theory? 

If you answered yes, then this course is for you.

Lessons are given on a one on one basis.

Each lesson is 20-25 minute-long.

This course is for students with no experience.

If you have taken piano lessons, audition for Intermediate Piano.

This course will feature presentations and conversations with Bennington alumni with the purpose of providing guidance to current students about how to leverage their own experience in designing their education to the next step in their growth: designing a career. The skills and capacities that undergird the Bennington approach to liberal arts are intended to also help students secure and thrive in rewarding professional careers.